Combined coring and reaming apparatus



July 12, 1960 F. 1.. LE BUS, SR

COMBINED CORING AND REAMING APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I n /A' 1 I INVENTOR.

' F? L. Le Bus 5/.-

July 12, 1960 F. 1.. LE BUS, sR 4,

COMBINED CORING AND REAMING APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1'35"! 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FL. LeBus 5/:

July 12, 1960 F. L. LE BUS, SR 2,944,795

COMBINED CORING AND REAMING APPARATUS 7 Filed May 15, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. F L. is 505 5/:

BY I ATTOR/V') (S/m July 12, 1960 Filed May 15, 1957 F. L. LE BUS, SR

COMBINED QORING AND REAMING APPARATUS ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l-l l lllll' I Y 36 n-uumm F73. 6 INVENTOR.

- FL. AeEus 5/:

BY A @2714 StatS rat e 1 1 I r 2,944,795 COMBINED COR-ING AND APPARATUS Franklin L. Le Bus, Sn, Longview, Tex., assignor to Le Bus Royalty Company, Longview, Tex., a partnership Filed May 15, 1957, Ser. No. 659,280

3 Claims.- (Cl. 255-72) This invention relates to an improved drilling apparatus for oil well bores, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a combined core drill and reamer apparatus so designed and constructed to permit the insertion of additional sections of drill pipe in the drilling string without raising the core drillfrorn the, bottom of the well bore.

In the drilling of oil wells, it is often desirable to obtain as much accurate and reliabe information about the sub-. surface formation as possible. It is common practice to drill a well here with a core drill or bit for recovering a core sample of the formation in .order to establish reliable data concerning the well bore. .T he core drilling or core cutting operation is much slower than conventional well bore drilling, and is, therefore, an expensive process. Furthermore, it is desirable to obtain as long a core sample as possible in order to provide adequate information for an analysis of the subsurface formation. It is usually necessary to insert additional sections of drill pipe in the drilling string during the core drilling in order to obtain a core'sample of a sufiicient length for an eflicient examination thereof. When the drilling string is raised within the well bore in order to permit the insertion of the additional pipe section, the core bit is moved up wardly from the bottom of the well bore. Simultaneously with the upward movement of the core drill, the core sample within the core barrel is broken 01f, leaving a core stub extending upwardly from the bottom of the well bore.

In breaking oif the core sample, one difliculty is encountered due to the fact that most oil producing formations are fractured in the form of inclined or anticlined relation, consequently, when a core sample is broken 01f,

it usually results in a cone or wedgeshaped stub which does not provide any difliculty if the operator is ready to come completely out of the well.- However, if thecore bit is lowered within the bore to resume the coring operation, the core stub will often cause a jamming of the core sample already contained within the core barrel. When this jamming occurs, it is impossible to continue the coring operation, and itis necessary to remove the core bit and core barrel from the well for recovery of the core' sample therein. The. core sample withinthe-barrel' is often ground up or pulverized due to the jamming, and results in the loss of valuable core information: Furthermore, when the core drill is raised off-the bottom-of the bore, a trap is formed in the annular space around the core stub wherein broken rock bit teeth, .chert and other types of hard pebbles will tend to-accumulate. The core drill is often damaged by these hard particles when the coring operation is continued, -and,-therefore, must be removed from the well for replacement. Not only is the core drill itself expensive to replace, ,but the time lost during the pulling of the drill string for replacing the bit increases the-overall cost of the drilling operation.

' The present invention contemplates a novel combinaj tion core drill and reamer apparatus particularly designed the core barrel is substantially precluded. The combined reaming and drilling operation substantially reduces the possibility of the corebit becoming stuck inthe well bore.

a 1n the event a cave-in of the bore wall occurs when the tool 'is in an extended position for the insertion of additional drill pipe, the reamer member will ream the well bore during the lowering of the tool, thereby facilitating the lowering of the extended members of the tool within the hole and into drilling contact with the core bit. Furthermore, the novel tool may be utilized with the conventional core barrel and core bit normally used in the core drilling industry today. 1

It is an object of this invention to provide a combination core drill and reamer apparatus for facilitating the core drilling operation in an oil well bore.

It isanother object of this invention to provide a novel tool which may be utilized with present day core barrels for facilitating the recovery of accurate and reliable core samples therewith. i Another object of this invention is to provide a novel combination core drill and reamer apparatus so designed andconstructed to permit'the insertion of additional pipe sections; in the drill string without raising the core drill bit from the bottom of the well bore.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a noveldrilling tool for facilitating the recovery of core samples of a greater length in order to provide accurate and reliable information regarding the subsurface formation.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a combination core drill and reamer apparatus for substantially decreasingthe cost and time of the core drilling recovery operation.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel combination core drill and reamer apparatus which is simple and efficient in operation and economical and durable in construction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be- Figure 2' is a cross sectional view taken on line 22 of pig. 1.

,. Figure}. isacross sectionalview taken on line 3'3 of Fig.1. 5 f iFigure 4 is Fig.1. j 7 a Figure 5 is a cross sectional view. taken on line 5 5 of across sectional view taken on line 4 -4 of to permit the insertion of additional pipesections in the Figure 6 is avertical sectional view partly inelevation show ing the combination unit in adri've position."

. Figure 9 is an elevational view partlyinsection de-" picting'the combination unit in an extended po'sitoinfon the inser ion of'additional Pipe sections; 1 i i Referring to the drawingsin detaiLand particularly to Figs,'l and 1A, the combination reamer and core drill 3 unit comprises an upper head or sub member '12 adapted to be connected to the lower end of the drill pipe (not shown) through suitable internal threads 14 at the upper end thereof as viewed in the drawings. The sub 12 is flared outwardly or enlarged at 1 6 and is provided with suitable external threads 18 for connection with an outer jacket or spline drive body 20. The tubular drive body 2ti is provided with external threads 22 at the lower end thereof for connection with a lower reamer drive body 24. The sub 12 is provided with a central longitudinal bore 26 extending into communication with a larger bore 28 in the upper drive body to provide a fluid passageway for the tool 10. The bore 28 extends longitudinally downward through the body 20 and through the lower reamer drive member 24. The lower drive member 24 extends downwardly into connection at 30 (Fig. 1A) with a suitable reamer 32 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth.

A core barrel housing 34 (Fig. 1A) is telescopically disposed within the outer jackets 20 and 24, and is connected with a suitable core drill 36 by means of the core bit-adapter member 38, as is well known in the industry. An inner core barrel housing 40 having a core catcher member 42 secured to the lower end thereof by means of an inner tubular adapter member 44 is provided within the core barrel housing 34, and extends upwardly therein into connection with a suitable bearing unit, generally indicated at 46. The bearing unit 46 is provided with suitable bearing members 48 to give a free wheeling action to the outer core barrel 34 with respect to the inner core catcher barrel 40, as is well known in core barrel construction.

The outer core barrel jacket 34 is threaded at the upper end 50 thereof to receive a suitable safety joint box member 52. The box member 52 is threadedly connected at 54 to a safety joint pin member 56, which is in turn threadedly secured at 58 to the bearing unit 46, as clearly shown in Fig. 1A. A suitable safety joint locking ring member 66 (Fig. l) is provided between the safety box 52 and the safety pin member 56, as is well known in the industry.

The safety pin member 56 is threaded at the upper end 62 thereof to receive an inner spline body 64. The inner or female spline body 64 is provided with a pair of sub stantially J-shaped slot members 66 (Fig. 1) each having an upper horizontal shoulder 68, a vertical side wall or shoulder 70 and a tapered inclined or spiral shoulder 72. The J-slots 66 are preferably diametrically opposed on the female spline body and are spaced approximately one hundred eighty degrees apart, providing an uninterrupted vertical shoulder 74 (Figs. 6, 8 and 9) adjacent the open ended vertical slot portion 76 of each J-slot 66. A pair of male spline members or lugs 78 are provided integral with the inner periphery of the outer drive body 20 for cooperating with the female spline body 64. The lug members 78 are preferably diametrically opposed and are spaced approximately one hundred eighty degreesapart for cooperation with the J-slots 66 to provide a telescopic connection or arrangement between the outer drive body 20 and the inner female spline body 64, as will be hereinafter set forth in detail.

The lower portion of the female spline body 64 is cut out as shown at 80 (Fig. 1) in a circumferentially spaced arrangement to provide an upper clutch member 82. In a similar manner, the lower end of the outer jacket 2024 is provided with a complementary clutch member 84 (Figs. 1A, 8 and 9) adjacent the reamer 32. The clutches. 82 and 84 co-act with each other when the slip joint tool 10 is in a raised position in a manner as will be hereinafter set forth.

The female spline body 64 is provided with a central bore 86 extending longitudinally therethrough to provide communication between the bore 26 and a central longitudinal bore 88 provided in the safety pin member 56. The bore 88 extends downwardly into communication with a plurality of spaced angular bores 90 (Fig. 1A) pro vided in the upper portion of the bearing unit 46. Thus, fluid may be directed downwardly through the tool 10 and radially outwardly through the bores 90 into the annular space 92 between the inner and outer core barrels 40 and 34 to assure eflicient fluid circulation to the drill or core bit 36 during the drilling operation.

The upper end of the female spline body 64 is pro vided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced inclined or spiral shoulders 94 in communication with the vertical grooves or slots 76 of each of the J-slots 66 to cooperate with a complementary spiral shoulder 96 provided on the lower edge of each of the male spline members 78. Thus, the lug members 78 will be automatically moved into the vertical slots 76 by the cooperating spiral shoulder 94 and 96 when the outer drive body 2024 is occasioned to move downwardly over the inner drive body 64. In this manner, the inner drive body 64 and the outer drive body 2024 may be telescopically arranged for the drilling operation, as will be hereinafter set forth.

A reduced sleeve member 100 extends upwardly fromthe inner drive body 64 and is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced annular or toroidal packing ring members 102 adjacent the upper end thereof (Figs. 7 and 8). When the outer jacket 2024 is lowered over the inner drive body 64, as shown in Fig. 8, the packing ring members 162 seat against the inner periphery of the upper sub 12 to preclude the flow of fluid downwardly around the sleeve 100. Thus, the drilling fluid (not shown) will be directed downwardly through the sleeve 100 and aligned bores 86 and 88, and radially outward through the angular bores 90 for discharge into the an- I nular space 92, thereby assuring an adequate fluid circulation to the core bit 36. When the outer jacket 2024 is in a raised position as shown in Fig. 9, the upper sub 12 is moved upwardly away from the sleeve 10!), whereupon the fluid will flow downwardly through the bore 26 into the bore 28 of the outer jacket 2024, and downwardly therethrough to assure an adequate fluid circulation to the reamer 32. It will be apparent that a portion of the fluid will also flow downwardly through the sleeve 100, as hereinbefore set forth, to provide a simultaneous fluid circulation to the core bit 36.

Operatiom The upper sub member 12 is threadedly connected at 14 to the drill pipe (not shown). The outer drive jacket 2024 is telescopically disposed over the inner drive body 64 by means of the cooperating male splines 78 and vertical slots 76. The outer jacket 2024 is lowered over the inner drive body 64 until the lower spiral shoulder 96 of the lugs 78 is brought into contact with the upper spiral shoulder 94 of the spline body 64. The complementary shoulders 94 and 96 will cause an automatic clockwise or right hand rotation of the outer drive body with respect to the inner drive body to automatically position the lugs 78 within the vertical slots 76. The outer drive body 2024 is then lowered over the inner spline body 64 until the lug members 78 rest at the lower end of the vertical slots 76. The outer jacket is then raised slightly with a simultaneous rotation in a counter-clockwise direction whereby the male lugs 78 will be moved along the spiral shoulder 72 and into contact with the vertical shoulder 70. A still further lifting of the outer jacket will move the lugs 78 into a position adjacent the' upper horizontal shoulder 68 of the J-slots 66, whereby the complete unit or tool 10 is interlocked and may be lowered into the well bore (not shown) in a locked position until it is desired to begin the coring operation. The inner drive body 64 and the core barrel and core bit depending therefrom will hang on the outer drive body 2024 through the contact between the horizontal shoulders 68 and the lugs 78, thereby permitting the lowering of the tool 10 within the well bore at the desided weight for coring and reaming the hole.

' the weight of the complete drill string down, wherein the male lug members 78 will ride or move downwardly on the spiral shoulder 72 into the vertical slot 76 adjacent thereto, as shown in Fig. 8. In this position, the lug or spline 78 is free for vertical movement in the slot 76. However, a continued right hand rotation of the drill string will move the splines 78 against the vertical shoulders 74 to transmit the rotational movement to the female spline body 64 and the core barrel units 34 and 50 secured therebelow. Thereamer '32 and core bit 36 will thus rotate simultaneous to core. and ream the well bore in one operation. This combination feature eliminates 'the necessity of coming out of the hole with the drill bit in order to ream the'hole for continued drilling, thereby reducing the expense of the coring operation, as well as the time required therefor. It will be apparent that the coring operation maybe continued until the length of the core within the core barrel is equal to the length'of raised an adequate amount for inserting the additional pipe section in the drillstring Without lifting or moving the male. spline members 78upwardly out of the grooves 76, thereby facilitating the lowering of the outer :drive body over, the inner drive body for continuing the coring operation. "At no time during the lifting of the outer jacket 2024 .is the core bit 36 moved olf the bottom of the well bore, thereby precluding the necessity of breaking the core sample. Furthermore, in the event that that side walls of thewell bore have collapsed, or the like, while the tool 10 is in its extended position, the

the coring operation, even if the core barrel or inner catcher is not completely full.

When it is desired to insert an additional pipe section in the drilling string, the drill string (not shown) is raised vertically within the well bore without any counterclockwise or clockwise rotation whatsoever The free movement of the male splines 78 in the vertical slots 76 will permit the outer spline jacket members 20 and 24 and the reamer head 32 to move vertically upward within the bore a distance suflicient to move the kelly out of the j hole at the well surface'for insertion of the extra section members '34 and 40, leaving the core drill 36 resting on t.

lower clutch member 84 to engage the upper clutch member 82. In this uppermost position of the outer jacket with respect to the inner female spline body 64, the engaged clutch members 82 and 84 provide a locking engagement between the female spline body 64 and the outer jacket 2024. Thus, a rotation of the outer jacket members by the drill string will be transmitted to ,the inner spline body 64 and the core barrel and core drill connected therebelow. It will be apparent that the drilling or coring operation may thus be continued when the tool or unit 10 is in a fully extended position.

As soon as the additional pipe section is interposed within the drill string, the string isagain lowered within 7 the well bore, thereby lowering ithef-outer :drive body 2024 over the inner drive body 64." The lug members The length of the vertical slots .76 is preferably sufiiciently great that the outer drive'body 20-24 may be outer jacket and reamer 32 may 'be rotated clockwise simultaneously with the drill string and independently of the inner drive body'64 and core bit 36 onthe return downward movement whereby the bore can be re-reamed until the male splines 78 are brought into contact with the spiral shoulder 94. The contact between the lower spiral'shoulder 96 of the lugs 78 and the upper spiral shoulder 94 of thefemale spline body 64 causes an automatic clockwise rotation of the outer drive body 2024 with respect to the inner drive body 64 to position the lugs 78 within the vertical slots 76. As soon as the lugs 78 enter the slots 76, the continued right hand rotation of the drill string will move the lugs into contactwith the vertical shoulder 74 of the J-slots 66 to transmit rotation to the core barrel and core bit as hereinbefore set forth. This reaming feature is of great advantage in the case of fall-ins or cave-ins that may have occurredin the side walls of the borehole during the raising operation. In addition, a key seat or detrimental bridge, or the like, may form above the core bit 36 during the coring operationfwhichcauses the bit to stick to the hole when it is eventually pulled for any reason. wheeling reaming action of the reamer 32 without rotation of the core barrel and core drillon the return move ment of the outer jacket 20-24 will clear the well bore of'all such obstacles that might cause aneventual sticking of the core bit. Furthermore, in the event the bit is stuck in the bore due to a cave-in during the raising operation, the-hole may be simultaneously reamed and drilled upon the engagement of the lugs 78 and the vertical shoulder 74 to free the stuck 'bit and continue the coring operation.

When it is necessary to pull the core barrel and core bit from the well for any reason, the drill string may be raised slightly with a simultaneous left hand or counterclockwise rotation whereby the lugs 78 will ride or move along the spiral shoulder 72 and move into disposition adjacent the upper horizontal shoulder 68 of the J-slots 66, thereby locking the outer jacket 20--24 with the inner drive body 64. A continued lifting of the drill string will elevate the entire tool 10 including the core barrel and core bit for withdrawal from the well bore. It will be apparent that the engagement between .the clutch members 82 and 84, as hereinbefore set forth, in

' the extended position of the tool 10 will also permit a raising of the entire tool 10, if desired.

1 From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a novel combination reaming and coring tool particularly designed and constructed to permit the insertion of additional sections of pipe in the drill string without moving the core bit from the bottom of the bore. Aparticular advantage of the novel tool is that the female spline bodyima y be th'readedly connected to the presently available core'barrel and core drill units normally utilized today. Thus, the novel tool completely eliminates the necessity of an additional slip joint memher in the drill string, thereby providing for, an economical core drilling operation. The combined reaming and drilling operation greatly facilitates the drilling and coring of the well bore and greatly reduces the hazards of cave-ins and the like within the bore. The novel tool is simple and efficient in operation and economical and durable in construction. I

'However, the free a Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement'of parts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, it being understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope of the following claims without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

I claim: p

1. In a combined reaming and core drill tool, an inner drive body, a core barrel unit carried by the inner drive body, a core bit carried by the core barrel unit, an outer drive body telescopically arranged over the inner drive body and core barrel, cooperating male and female spline means provided on the inner and outer drive bodies, said spline means interengaging in one position for locking the inner and outer bodies together to provide for a simultaneous longitudinal movement thereof, said spline means interengaging in a second position for transmitting rotation from the outer drive body to the inner drive'body and core barrel unit and core bit, said spline means in said second position permitting a longitudinal movement of the outer drive body with respect to the inner drive body without movement of the core bit to provide alternate extended and contracted positions for the tool, said spline means out of engagement in the extended position for the tool whereby the outer drive body may be rotated independently of the inner drive body and core barrel and core bit, and reamer means provided on the outer drive body for facilitating the longitudinal movement of the outer drive body in one direction, said reamer means cooperating with said core bit for a simultaneous reaming and coring operation.

2. A combined reaming and coring apparatus for a well bore, comprising an inner drive body, an outer drive body telescopically disposed over the inner drive body, a core barrel unit'carried by the inner drive body, a core bit carried by the core barrel unit, a plurality of female spline members provided on the outer periphery of the inner drive body, a plurality of male spline members provided on the inner periphery of the outer drive body for cooperation with the female spline members, said female spline members of a substantially J-shaped configuration and having one end thereof open for receiving the male spline members, said male and female spline members interengaging in one position to provide for a simultaneous rotation between the inner and outer drive bodies for rotation of the core barrel unit and core bit, said spline members interengaging in another position to provide for simultaneous longitudinal movement between the inner and outer drive bodies for facilitating lowering and raising of the combined tool within the well bore, said spline members in said first position permitting a longitudinal movement of the outer drive body with respect to the inner drive body into an extended position without moving the core bit from the bottom of the well bore, said spline means being out of engagement in the extended position of the apparatus whereby the outer drive body may be rotated independently of the inner drive body, and reamer means carried by the outer drive body for cooperation with the core bit to provide a combined reaming and coring of the well bore.

3. in combination with a core drill and a core barrel, a female spline body adapted to carry the core barrel and core drill, an outer spline body adapted to be telescopically disposed over the female spline body, said spline bodies interconnected in one position for simultaneous rotation and longitudinal movement, said spline bodies interconnected in another position for independent longitudinal movement of the outer spline body with respect to the female spline body to provide a plurality extended position therebetween, said outer spline body disconnected from the inner spline body in the extended position for independent rotation with respect to the female spline body and core drill, clutch means provided on the female spline body and outer spline body to preclude a complete separation thereof in a fully extended position therebetween, and reamer means carried by the outer spline body to facilitate the longitudinal movement thereof in one direction and for cooperation with the core drill to provide a combined reaming and coring operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,405 Stroud June 8, 1937 1,582,904 Conrey May 4, 1926 1,909,187 Oksenholt May 16, 1933 2,309,866 Reed Feb. 2, 1943 2,551,995 Brown May 8, 1951 2,776,817 Gregory et al. Jan. 8, 1957 

